Inside the real-life A-Team rescuing Americans from dangerous situations when nobody else will
On a dark Tuesday night this month, Bryan Stern, the Tampa‑based founder of the volunteer organization Grey Bull Rescue, guided a small boat through 10‑foot waves off the Venezuelan coast to escort former President Civic Unity Movement leader María Corina Machado—whom the international community calls the most‑wanted woman in South America—to safety.
Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and outspoken opposition figure, was on the run from Venezuelan intelligence and reportedly the surveillance networks of Cuba, Russia, Iran, China, and even criminal cartels. Stern, a U.S. Army and Navy veteran who spent most of his career in special‑operations units, was on the very same boat because Grey Bull operates by a simple rule: “the boss goes, too.” He even told The Post in an exclusive interview, “and I am really, really invested in not getting blown up.”
After 13 hours on the open sea, they reached the safety of a Norwegian harbor, and Machado was freed. Though an intense mission, it was not the toughest that Grey Bull has undertaken—it marked the group’s 800th rescue in its four‑year history.
Grey Bull Rescue was born in August 2021, amid the U.S. Afghanistan withdrawal, and is staffed by more than 80 former special‑operations and intelligence officers who work without a salary, without government money and who only purchase one‑way tickets. “We do it because we can, not because we’re paid,” Stern explains.
Since launching, the group claims it has rescued 8,400 people in over 40 countries. The missions include 12 jailbreaks from Russia, five hostage rescues from Gaza, hurricane evacuations, and California wildfire rescues. “Grey Bull is a true representation of America,” Stern says. “I’ve got black and white operatives, I’ve got men and women. I’ve got hairy, bald, fat, skinny. I’ve got guys with ‘Hillary Clinton for president’ bumper stickers and guys with MAGA tattoos. You name it, we got it.”
The organization’s clientele ranges from wealthiest donors to individuals who can’t afford anything. When people contact Grey Bull, they usually have already called the State Department, the FBI, or their congressmen and found those channels too slow or cautious. “We’re the last resort,” Stern says. “We’re never the first phone call.”
An example of the group’s bold approach is the night‑time extraction of Terry Gately, an American missionary captured and tortured in Kherson, Ukraine. While the U.S. State Department had advised Gately to surrender to his captors, Grey Bull mapped an escape route, recruited local drivers, set up a relay of handoffs, and guided him through more than 50 Russian checkpoints to safety.
Grey Bull’s finances come almost entirely from “a few generous donors” (none of whom are named) and from over 10,000 individual supporters. “We have cases right now that we can do, lives that we can save, that we cannot afford. Which sucks,” Stern admits.
The private rescue sector operates under two models. Some firms, such as Global Rescue, charge annual fees to members; meanwhile, kidnap‑and‑ransom insurance—worth $2.3 billion worldwide and projected to reach $4.7 billion by 2034—provides Fortune 500 companies with access to elite crisis teams. Grey Bull fills a gap where neither governments nor insurance programs will operate.
In 2024, the predecessor of Grey Bull—Project Dynamo—reported the following fiscal year: an operating budget of $1.23 million and expenses of $2.07 million, leaving a $1.47 million deficit. Despite the deficit, the group continues to plan daring rescues.
One of its most audacious missions involved Detroit farmer Kirill Alexandrov, arrested by Russian forces in Ukraine in April 2022. He endured 37 days of torture, mock executions and beatings, reminiscent of “very Gestapo‑style” procedures, before Grey Bull extricated him from a death sentence without due process. Stern said the Russians sent an assassin, but the attacker failed. The operation was later referred to as an “unsolved crime” inside the Russian system, and the team claimed to have amassed significant information later shared with U.S. officials. In December 2023, the Justice Department unsealed war‑crimes charges against four Russia‑affiliated military personnel tied to the abuse of a U.S. national in Ukraine—the first case ever brought under the U.S. war‑crimes statute. “They didn’t even mention our names,” Stern laughed.
Other notable missions include the rescue of nuclear scientist John Spor, who designed U.S. military laser‑guided weapons and became a “highest‑value Russian target” after the Ukraine invasion. Grey Bull allegedly moved him through 30‑plus Russian checkpoints in disguise—including a crutch‑wearing ruse. The group said the operation reminded them of the film Argo, only without “the $60 billion from the CIA backing us.”
After leaving the military, Stern said he founded Grey Bull Rescue to address a gap he saw repeatedly: families trapped in crises where official help existed in theory but arrived too late in practice.
During the 13 hours at sea with Machado, Stern expected political commentary about democracy or Venezuela’s future. Instead, the conversation turned to her family: “She hadn’t seen her kids in two years,” he says. “That was the main topic of conversation on the boat, that she was so excited to see her children.”
These moments, Stern says, are why the job matters. “When our phone rings, the conversations are always horrible,” he says. “No one’s ever called and I’ve thought, ‘oh, that’s not so bad.’”
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
